Low-quality tropical forages fed at restricted intake to cattle can substantially increase methane yield compared to previous estimates, up to 10% higher. Improved feeding practices can help mitigate methane emissions from livestock while boosting smallholder farmer productivity and income. A study found that below-maintenance feed intake increases the amount of methane produced per unit of feed by cattle. More data is needed on enteric methane emissions in African cattle under local conditions to accurately report national greenhouse gas emissions.

1. § Low-quality tropical forages at restricted intake
substantially increase methane yield in tropical cattle
§ Methane emissions factors may be up to 10% higher
than previous estimates
§ Improved feeding suggest a way forward to mitigate
methane emissions and points towards higher
productivity and economic benefits for smallholder
farmers
Below-maintenance feed intake
increases methane yield from enteric
fermentation
Partners
Kassel University, University of Hohenheim,
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Outcomes
• Potential pathway towards intensifying livestock
production and the opportunity to accurately
report national greenhouse gas emissions to
UNFCCC
CLIMATE CHANGE &
GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION
The CGIAR Research Program on Livestock thanks all donors &
organizations which globally support its work through their contributions to
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This document is licensed for use under the Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International Licence. June 2020
Context
• Enteric methane emissions factors for cattle in
Africa are currently based “best-guesstimates”
from studies carried out outside of Africa
• Localized data are necessary for accurate
national greenhouse gas reporting under UNFCCC
• Intensified livestock systems are essential to
ensure food security in the future
Our innovative approach
• An experiment that investigated the
performance and methane emissions from
starving animals (no animals were harmed!)
Future steps
• Link the baseline results to intervention testing
experiments in the future
• Extrapolate the findings to other climatic zones
and livestock production systems in Africa
Lutz Merbold, Mazingira Centre, ILRI
l.merbold@cgiar.org
ENVIRONMENT
Citation
Goopy JP, Korir D, Pelster D, Ali AIM, Wassie SE,
Schlecht E, Dickhöfer U, Merbold L, Butterbach-
Bahl K (2020) Severe below-maintenance feed
intake increases methane yield from enteric
fermentation in cattle. British Journal of
Nutrition
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114519003350
Aerial overview of ILRIs Mazingira Centre in Nairobi, Kenya
Boran steer and animal respiration chamber at ILRI’s Mazingira Centre in Nairobi